Any other Migraine sufferers here?

[Tag]

I have had these things since I was in my early 20s. (I just turned 55 last week) I can say they have ruined a good 5-10% of my life since then. For the last 10 years i have had them more or less under control, pretty much with relaxation techniques, caffiene, advil, and the occasional percocet. (3-4 pills a year, I am no drug addict) The last 2 weeks have been brutal however, and its at the absolute worst time of year for me to have them. I get visual sparks, shooting stars, deep fog, and big dark areas in my vision which make it impossible to do anything other than lay down and keep my eyes closed. Then as bad as the head pain is (left side of my head only most of the time), the sickness you feel from your scalp right into your fingernails and toe nails to me is the worst part. I usually do not throw up (A few times I have) but feel like I am on the verge of it for hours at a time. I saw my neurologist last week, and he wants to try me on Topamax. The side effects or possible side effects REALLY scare me though. Anyone else suffer from these things, and if so, how do you deal with them? Has anyone tried Topamax? Any feed back would REALLY be appreciated.

 

[Jet Whitey]

I suffered from them my whole childhood until I went into the Air Force and fresh milk was non-existant. I discovered that milk was the trigger. I have been milk free and migraine free since. I do miss my 1/2 a box of ceral and milk for breakfast, but not bad enough to suffer the migraines again. I'd ask a doctor to check you for food allergies or environmental allergies as well as an alternative to meds.

 

[iahawk36]

I've gotten them since about age 4, and I get them to the point that they cause me to vomit....a LOT. However, I've learned to control/handle them mostly through advil, getting enough sleep, and knowing my triggers (chocolate being the biggest one). I've found the past couple years though that drastic changes in weather (mostly high and low pressure fronts) trigger pretty easily. So when I see one may be headed our way I usually start the Advil regimen in advance and that usually wards them off.

 

[Jon Canfield]

I feel for you, I have a chronic problem with them. I avoid soy and milk (coconut milk works great though!), and perfumes can trigger one instantly. I've started getting botox injections in the head which helps quite a bit for about 3 months at a time.

Before the botox, my neurologist also tried the topomax. It made me confused - one morning I was stuck in my car because I couldn't figure out how to open the door for about 10 minutes.

Good luck, hope you find something that works!

 

[AP515]

I have aural migranes. I get the bright fuzzy ring that grows in my vision until I go blind for about 25 minutes and then a light headache after that. I'm very thankful the headache is no more than a couple of Tylenol can handle. For me the trigger is hormonal. A change in sexual activity (either more or less frequent) will bring them on. <This is where you make jokes like "if you keep doing that you'll go blind!">

 

[László]

My brother and wife both get them. Topamax worked for my brother, but not for my wife. I feel for ya, Tag. Migraines suck.

 

[DISTORT6]

This is the crap my drummer has been dealing with for years. He found this site on his own:

http://umm.edu/health/medical/reports/articles/headaches-cluster